


Questioning

by NerdofSpades



Series: Open Doors [3]
Category: Assassination Classroom, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Bigotry, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, Izuku's got a dream, Izuku's overzealous work ethic, Karasuma is not happy with Aldera, Quirkless Izuku, planning for the future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-30 02:21:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19032784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdofSpades/pseuds/NerdofSpades
Summary: Things have changed for Izuku, and he's changed with them. Now, faced with consequences and questions he can't answer, he needs to figure out who he really wants to be.





	Questioning

Izuku was exhausted. After months of training at school and clearing Dagobah beach for All Might, Izuku was reaching his limit. He’d hoped he’d be able to keep up with both, but he honestly isn’t sure why he thought that was a good idea now. Really, he thought he could handle two extremely intense training regimens simultaneously? What kind of idiot was he?

As it was, Izuku wasn’t just doubting his ability to keep up with everything at this point, nor was his current state simply affecting his physical performance. Nope, his grades were dropping again, and he knew Korosensei and Karasuma-sensei had noticed in their respective classes. How did he know? Easy. It was Korosensei and Karasuma-sensei. They always noticed these things. (As much as he didn’t like to admit it, All Might was a horrible teacher and had yet to notice anything was wrong.) And then there was the other reason he knew that they had noticed.

“Well, Midoriya-kun?” Korosensei pressed. “I know there’s a reason for all of this, but I can’t help you if I don’t know what it is?”

He had pulled Izuku aside after class let out to speak with him and Karasuma-sensei in the teacher’s lounge. At least it was just them. None of his classmates or Bitch-sensei were still in the area.

Izuku shuffled his feet, carefully looking anywhere but at his teacher. “Don’t you, uh, normally just follow your students for this kinda stuff?” he asked quietly.

“Normally, yes, he does,” Karasuma-sensei answered. “I managed to convince him to just ask you this time. I’m hoping it will mean a little less stalking in the future.”

Right, that made sense. Izuku turned his gaze to his feet. What exactly was he supposed to say? That he had been training with All Might? Or should he just lie? Promise it would stop and leave it at that?

But he couldn’t promise that. In order for it to stop, he would need to pick one. It shouldn’t even be that hard. Just pick one and stop putting so much effort into the other training. It would be that simple.

But he couldn’t. He couldn’t just pick one. If he gave up on All Might… that was like giving up on his dream. But stopping his assassin training would be like giving up on the world. Then there was the other part…

Most of Izuku’s classmates didn’t exactly have the most sought-after quirks in the world. There were some mutation quirks, and two quirks that could be counted as “heroic,” but the rest? Their class was made up of either extremely weak quirks, villainous quirks, and the entire quirkless population of Aldera Junior High. And even with all of that, they were coming closer to killing Korosensei than even All Might. Izuku had watched his class find ways to beat even the best in the school. He had watched them train and succeed, with and _without_ their quirks. Something in him had changed.

“Korosensei, Karasuma-sensei,” he said slowly, eyes screwed shut. This was beginning to feel just like the time with All Might on the roof. He hoped it had a better ending. “Do you think I can be a hero? Even without a quirk?”

Izuku stood there, fists clenched, and waited. He wasn’t going to say anything else until they answered.

“Of course, you can.”

Izuku’s eyes opened and his head snapped up to stare at Korosensei. He thought…

“Not so fast there,” Karasuma-sensei interrupted. Izuku could feel his heart sink back down to his feet again. Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy. “Sure, you can be a hero. You’d be great at it. But getting the license isn’t going to be easy.”

That’s what he had a problem with? Not… He thought Izuku could be a hero? A good one?

“We can address the issues of the _how_ later, Karasuma-sensei. For now, I think Midoriya-kun needs some reassurance.”

“Huh?” Karasuma-sensei grunted turning a confused face back towards Izuku. “Oh, shit! You’re crying. Um, easy there, kid. Just… calm down.”

Izuku whipped at the tears with his sleeve, trying to choke down sobs. They believed in him. Even without a quirk, they believed in him.

“Midoriya-kun,” Korosensei said quietly, offering a tissue, which Izuku took, “you undoubtedly have the potential. You are kind, compassionate, and hard working. Even if you don’t stand out among your classmates in any one skill, you are still above the average for the class, and your class is anything but average. I am a little concerned about what kind of hero you want to be though. You’re an All Might fan, are you not?”

Izuku finished cleaning his face for the time being and stifled his tears. “Y-yeah,” he nodded.

“I’m not entirely sure why that’s important. Everyone likes All Might,” said Karasuma-sensei.

“Ah, but people almost invariably try to emulate their heroes if they go into the same field. Especially when they are celebrities,” Korosensei answered. “Do you know where I’m going with this, Midoriya-kun?”

Izuku shook his head.

“Hmm, do you remember what I told Sugino-kun?” he asked. “You were there, I believe. It was the first time you attacked me in earnest and not just because someone else told you to.”

Izuku thought for a moment. He remembered that day. Korosensei had gone to a baseball game to learn somethings to help Sugino-kun improve his pitch. Sugino-kun had been trying to emulate a professional pitcher, despite the fact that… “You’re talking about how I can’t be like All Might,” Izuku answered, “because I don’t have a quirk.”

Korosensei’s face turned red, with a dark circle on it. “Correct. Although, I would amend that a bit. I don’t know if anyone could really be like All Might. His quirk is truly something else, and then throw his charisma on top of that. It’s no wonder he became the Symbol of Peace.”

“But you don’t think I can.”

“That was never in the cards for you, Midoriya-kun,” Karasuma-sensei said.

“Just like how Sugino-kun won’t ever throw Arita’s fastball, you will never throw a ‘Texas Smash,’” Korosensei confirmed.

Well, they weren’t entirely accurate. But that was beside the point.

“So, Midoriya-kun,” Korosensei continued. “What kind of hero do you want to be?” Izuku blinked. What kind of hero did he want to be? “You don’t have to answer now, but it will go a long way to making sure your goal is attainable.”

“I…” In the past it was easy. He wanted to be like All Might. He wanted to make people feel safe with a smile. He wanted to be hope.

But things had changed. Even All Might only thought Izuku could be a hero if he had a quirk. And All Might had opened a path for Izuku to follow that dream to the letter. Now, Izuku had two teachers that knew his skills better than almost anyone telling him he didn’t need a quirk. That he could be a hero of his own kind.

And it felt right. Like it was something he had always needed. Always known. Something in him was resonating with the very idea of stepping forward under his own power and-

“I… I want to be someone I would have looked up to as a child,” Izuku finally answered. “I want to be a hero to all the quirkless kids out there. A sign that they can be whatever they want to be, no matter what anyone else says. I don’t want them to suffer like I did.” The tears were back again. “I don’t want anyone else to grow up thinking they’re worthless and weak just because they don’t have a quirk.”

Karasuma-sensei stiffened in his chair.

“A wonderful answer, Midoriya-kun,” Korosensei beamed, ruffling Izuku’s hair with one tentacle. “Now, Karasuma-sensei, we consider the how because, unfortunately, Midoriya-kun, he is right about that. It is going to be extremely difficult for you to get a hero license.”

Izuku’s head dropped. “Right.”

Karasuma-sensei sighed. “Alright, let’s talk strategy, but we are coming back to the comment about thinking you’re worthless.”

“Agreed,” Korosensei said blithely.

Izuku wasn’t sure whether or not he should be regretting that statement, but he’d certainly be finding out by the end of the conversation.

“First things first,” Karasuma-sensei began, “you need to stop overworking yourself. You need to build up your strength, yes, but you’ll do the opposite and hurt yourself if you keep going as is.” Izuku winced but nodded. “On top of that, your assassin training will be invaluable, but will also leave you vulnerable in a battle. You need more than that.”

“May I suggest Mixed Martial Arts?” Korosensei said. “It would provide Midoriya-kun with offensive and defensive capabilities outside of assassination tactics and would provide him with the chance to develop his own fighting style from a unique blend of techniques, while also giving him a wide variety of tricks to pull from.”

“Yeah, MMA is probably his best bet for hand to hand combat,” Karasuma-sensei agreed. “For that, there are a few dojos I know in the area. I can probably make it look like additional assassin training and get the Ministry of Defense to pay for it, at least for the next year.”

“I also suggest learning the art of improvised weaponry,” Korosensei added with a laugh. “It’s indispensable for an assassin and will make you more unpredictable as a hero in the field.”

“Also very true,” said Karasuma-sensei. “But it will be more difficult to teach. I’ll look into that one over the next few days. I assume you have another reason for suggesting that?” He turned his attention back to Korosensei.

Korosensei chuckled. “Of course!” he said. “You see, Midoriya-kun, this brings us to the next problem. We can train you up all we want, but if you can’t get into a hero school, your career won’t be going anywhere. Once there, your new teachers will have to take over preparing you for your licensing exams. And the unfortunate thing is, many schools have tests that are heavily weighted for flashy and offensive quirks, putting you at an extreme disadvantage. Some schools even have rules prohibiting quirkless hopefuls from applying for their heroics course.”

“Yeah, I knew about that last part,” Izuku muttered, “and I guess I should have expected that the tests would be weighted against me. Not like anything else has ever been fair.”

“Ah, but here is where we approach things like an assassin, Midoriya-kun! Can you tell me what you should do when faced with this road block?”

“Um, research?” Izuku answered.

“Hmm, partial credit,” Korosensei responded. “You can do better than that. Yes, research is a crucial step, but _what_ are you researching, and _why?_ ”

“Well…” Izuku said slowly. “If it’s going to be difficult to get in, I need to look at the schools where I am most likely to succeed. But I also need to consider the long term, which schools have the highest success rate for getting their students to pass the licensing exams. I should also probably look at the school’s entrance exam rules. Figure out what I’m allowed to do so I can try and work them to my favor.”

“Exactly right!” Korosensei said, his face lighting up again. “Now, the reason I brought up the improvised weapons is because many schools won’t allow you to bring anything in, or, if they do, it has to be a support item necessary for your quirk, as approved by the government, or something you made. A few will allow just about anything in but getting your hands on proper support gear would be just as difficult and usually illegal. So, the solution is to find small things you can make and bring that or find items on the testing ground that you can use.”

“Makes sense,” Izuku conceded. “Is there… anything else?”

“Hmm, I don’t have any suggestions, but I am going to make you do the research on the schools you will apply to yourself. And I am requiring that you at least try for UA as well. I will not have you simply give up on your dream school because you don’t think you can pass. Have back up plans, but UA is the most likely to get you a license. We cannot forget that.” Korosensei turned to his fellow instructor. “Karasuma-sensei, do you have anything to add?”

“No, I think you about covered it,” he said. “So, let’s go back a bit. Midoriya-kun, who told you you were worthless?” he asked, leaning forward, gaze even sterner than it usually would.

Izuku shifted nervously. “Uh… most of the main campus student body?”

“Anyone else?” Korosensei pushed gently.

“Um… some of the staff,” Izuku muttered, ducking his head, “and… uh… Terasaka-kun.”

“I didn’t quite catch that last part, Midoriya-kun,” Karasuma-sensei said.

Izuku winced. He had hoped he would get out of this without causing problems in class. “T-Terasaka-kun,” he said louder, his voice wavering slightly. “B-but he’s hardly the worst of it, and he’s stopped more recently…”

Karasuma-sensei was fuming. He took a deep breath in and let it. “I don’t think I can do much about the main campus, but Terasaka-kun will be facing consequences.”

“Yes, he will be,” Korosensei growled, his face starting to turn black.

Karasuma-sensei sent Korosensei a slight glare before turning his gaze back to Izuku. “Midoriya-kun,” he spoke softly, “if you ever need to talk, we’re here. And if you decide you would rather see a professional, and _not_ one this school has hired, I can help set that up as well.”

Izuku nodded. He could feel tears beginning to burn his eyes again.

Korosensei still looked pissed, but another glare from Karasuma-sensei had him pushing the anger back in favor of looking after the student in front of him.

“Now, I have just one last thing,” Karasuma-sensei continued. “We never did get an answer as to why you were overworking yourself, Midoriya-kun.”

“Uh, he-he,” Izuku chuckled nervously. “If I told you it would stop, would you leave it alone?”

Karasuma-sensei and Korosensei hesitated, exchanging a look. “Alright,” Korosensei answered.

“But if we notice this happening again,” Karasuma-sensei continued, “we will look into it.”

Izuku nodded and bowed. “Yes, Sensei. Thank you, Sensei.” Rising quickly, with a blush beginning to turn his cheeks red and a grin starting to pull at his lips, Izuku dashed out of the room, and began making his way to his next appointment.

Only after he left did he realize they never asked what he was doing in his spare time that had worn him out so much.

 

* * *

 

“So, yeah,” Izuku finished, bowing again. “I’m grateful for the offer and the opportunity, but I would like to do this as a quirkless individual, for myself and for all the other quirkless people in the world, from here on out.”

All Might nodded. “That’s quite the lofty goal,” he said, resting a bony hand on Izuku’s head. “I like it!” he exclaimed, puffing up into his hero form. “It truly is a worthy aspiration for someone as heroic as you! I will continue to support you however I can, Midoriya-shounen!”

Izuku straightened, grinning so wide his cheeks were starting to hurt. “Thanks, All Might!”

“Now, you mentioned a new training regimen?”

“Yeah!” Izuku answered, starting to bounce slightly in excitement. “One of my teachers is helping me out. He suggested mixed martial arts and improvised weaponry. He used to work for the Ministry of Defense, so he knows some people and is working out a new training schedule now!”

“That sounds good to me!” All Might exclaimed, before coughing slightly and powering down. “We can rest some then, and I’ll rework the training schedule to fit in with your new level of activity. After all, we don’t need to put on as much muscle as possible before the exams any more. You need muscle, sure, but not necessarily that much. We’ll also use some of our down days to work of theory, strategy, and law. You’ve got a great brain and I’d be a fool not to at least try and cultivate it.”

“Right!”

“I’ve just got one more question,” said All Might.

“Huh, yeah? What is it?” Izuku asked, calming down again.

“What changed your mind? You were so hyped and excited before. So committed. What happened?”

Oh, how was Izuku supposed to answer this. Uh… time to spin the wheel of excuses. Saying that assassin training was giving him confidence was definitely not the right answer, mostly because of state secrets and all that, but what could he say? Anyway, spinning the wheel, and there it goes. It broke. It’s gone now.

“Midoriya-shounen?”

Right he needed to give an answer. Maybe just leave out the assassin part? “Uh, I guess… a lot of things in my life have been changing lately and… I have a lot more support than I used to. And I gained some confidence and new ideas in the process. I used to want to be just like you, but now I know I don’t have to. I can be a new kind of hero.”

All Might grinned down at him. “That works just fine by me,” he said.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again!
> 
> So yeah, Izuku's gonna take a crack at being a quirkless hero! All Might... he doesn't necessarily believe Izuku can do it, but he's hopeful. He's still going to support Izuku and see how far the kid goes without too much interference, and he's definitely not going to let Iuzku know what he really thinks on the matter.
> 
> Another part down, so so many more to go. Hope you guys are ready for it.  
> NoS


End file.
